Letters

Congratulations on the 100th edition of Bees for Development Journal. The tremendous effort and energy that the team put into this publication is a wonderful example of what it is possible to achieve with lots of good will and not much money... maybe beekeeping would be taken more seriously by our ‘authorities’ all over the world if everybody involved in the activity worked with the same idealism, ethics and enthusiasm that Bf D puts into the job.

BfD shows us that with due respect to local environments, the bees, the local people and their culture, beekeeping is a sustainable activity that can provide a source of income while helping to preserve the natural resources that make life possible, and the world such a wonderful place to live. However, the problem with beekeeping is that many people consider it just as a ‘job’ that has to be done to produce the money that we all need to assure a reasonable livelihood for ourselves and our families. Somewhere along the line the unscrupulous have started to meddle about with the environment, the bees, the beekeepers, the markets and have got us all into a situation in which this natural sustainability is crumbling away.

Just a few examples:

• How have bee diseases spread all over the world? By the illegal trafficking of bees.

• How have we managed to risk bee populations in many regions of the world? Through indiscriminate deforestation.

• Why is it now necessary to analyse our honeys and other bee products to ensure that they are fit for human consumption, when the bee’s working methods guarantee a 100% natural and pure product? Because we have contaminated bee products and the environment with chemical treatments for disease, pesticides, GMOs, etc.

• How have we achieved the disappearance of up to 40% of bee colonies in many parts of the world due to Colony Collapse Disorder? A combination of factors that originate from our manipulation of the bees and their environment to make them more ‘productive’ and to suit our own purposes (for example: stress from migratory beekeeping, forced pollination of commercial crops, artificial feeding with ingredients not meant for bees, etc).

• Why are the honey industries in the most important exporting countries facing such a serious crises right now? Because the European Court of Justice has recognised the consumers’ right to choose between eating pure natural foods, or foods that have been artificially manipulated for economic purposes.

• Why do so many beekeeping development projects fail? Because ‘modern’ beekeeping practices promoted by many projects are often neither adapted to, nor suitable for, local situations.

It is sad to say that the list could go on and on. And the impact of this global situation on the small-scale beekeepers and their environments could be very serious. The commercial beekeepers may have to transfer their activity to areas free from different types of pollution, which are the areas where traditional and small-scale beekeeping exist in harmony with the environment. In many cases commercial management practices are not compatible with traditional, organic or small-scale beekeeping.

We can deduce from these considerations that the concept of ‘Ethics’ in beekeeping means respect, on the part of all actors in the chain, for the environment, the bees, the beekeepers, the traders and the consumers. But how can we keep a balance? It would be great to receive comments and ideas from colleagues in different countries and situations on what can be done to conserve the ‘sustainability’ of beekeeping activities, and return to more ethical beekeeping systems.

Harriet Eeles, Regional Beekeepers’ Network, Lakes Region, Chile

100 plus

Congratulations on making it to the 100th edition of BfD Journal. May you continue to excel and grow in all your endeavours. I am very pleased to learn that Bf D Trust has continued sponsoring my copies of the Journal.

Mike Ukattah, Nigeria

I am honoured to have had the lead article in issue 100 of BfD Journal.

Dr Sara Robb, Bath Potions Ltd, UK

We congratulate you on the 25 years of publication of our favourite Journal. We encourage you to continue with the publication of our activities.

Jean Kakule Musubao, CEPANKI, DR Congo

Thanks for the famous BfDJ 100; I really enjoyed the articles. Well done!

Kwame Aidoo,Bf D’s Correspondent in Ghana

Thank you very much for sending me the 100th issue of BfD Journal. It has come up very well, and as always is very informative. Congratulations for the same. I take this opportunity to thank you for including information about the ICIMOD ‘honey bees’ project. Both text and photos look great.

Uma Partap, ICIMOD, Nepal

We have received issue 100 and we can say like Mr Gladstone Solomon One hundred not out is not easy (myself I enjoy reading the Journal because I learn more about bees and bee products). So we are celebrating together with you for the past 100 editions and thank you for supporting poor countries. Please keep it up.

John Harawu, AAATU, Malawi